On the Line
by SparkleMouse
Summary: Insert scene based off of sneak peek #1 for Hunt. Spoilers.


Written for Bee, because she asked. Just a little continuation of that peek, if Martha handed Kate the phone.

* * *

Kate sits on the bed, phone pressed to her ear, the mattress sinking underneath her weight. The sheets are still rumpled from the previous morning; she hadn't spent the night for reasons she can no longer remember (something stupid, she thinks. Too much paperwork to get done, the need for a decent night's sleep, the comfort of her own bed. _Stupid reasons)_,but he had given her every detail on the ride over to the crime scene. The bitterness of Martha's pancakes, the realization that his mother missed Alexis as much as he did, if not more. He had mentioned something about the circle of life, had started to sing until she had turned the volume up on the car radio drowning him out with the lyrics to some Beyonce song and her own bubbling laughter.

That was yesterday.

Yesterday before this became personal. Yesterday before she knew just what he was capable of, what he was willing to do to save the lives those he loves.

"Castle-"

"Don't," he answers, voice distant, location or emotional or a little bit of both. "I'm not coming home without Alexis, Beckett."

She stands and paces, heels clicking against the hardwood floors. "You have no resources out there, Castle. You can't run around Paris hoping to find her. You need help."

"I have help."

She stops, her entire body stilling. He hasn't called Ryan or Esposito; he hasn't gotten in touch with any of the officers at the twelfth, hasn't asked for her help either. The FBI has no idea he's even missing yet and it all runs through her brain, the connections he's made over the years, the-

_Shit._"You contacted the CIA." Castle sighs over the line and it's answer enough. Shit, shit, shit. "Castle, you can't - you're going to get yourself killed out there. We are doing everything in our power to find Alexis, but you can't go off halfcocked and do this yourself. You need to come home. Now."

He's silent with the exception of his exhale and she closes her eyes, can visualize the slump of his shoulders, defeat without conceding. "We both know I can't do that. I have to do this, Kate. I have to save her."

"Who's helping you?"

"Danberg."

Okay, at least it's someone she knows, someone they both know and she's back on the bed, breathing slightly hitched because she's helpless and in love with him and so desperate to save him in any way she can but she can't, never in the ways he's saved her over the years. "There's nothing I can say to stop you, is there?"

It's back in his voice, the fierce determination, the anger at all he can potentially lose, the sadness of _what if's_ and _no longer's._ "No."

She reaches for one of his pillows and takes with it the scent of him. Not cologne or soap but the one that washes off on her on late nights; the one she craves when she's alone at home, pillowcases faint with him and not nearly strong enough.

"Promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you'll call if you need anything." She hears the bustling of city streets, the smooth accent of French being filtered through the call. There's horns and something she can't quite put her finger on and she can feel the panic rising and she just has to breathe, she has to be the best cop she can, work the case from here, help him despite his resistance. "Castle. Promise me."

"I will. I'll call if I need you. You'll still - you're still working-"

"Of course." She wants to tell him they'll find Alexis, but she can't. _I'll never forgive you _is a constant loop in her brain; she's not sure she can do this without him anymore. She definitely doesn't want to_. _"Around the clock."

Neither of them says anything and she doesn't want to hang up, figures maybe he doesn't either despite his running away, despite his urgency. And then he speaks and it's laced with tears or anguish or fight. Probably all of the above.

"I have to go, Kate. I'll be okay. I love you."

The phone goes dead. The screen turns to black.

And she is alone.

Amongst his life, their life, his family's life.

Kate closes her eyes, the phone tight in her hand.

_I love you too._

* * *

_Comments always welcomed and appreciated!_


End file.
